The theory of practice

Dipak C. Jain, INSEAD

Business schools can spur entrepreneurship through curriculum and culture. The key is to create an environment that encourages team learning and student initiative, allowing the entrepreneurial mindset to blossom, says INSEAD dean Dipak C. Jain

Dipak C. Jain, dean of INSEAD

Entrepreneurship is a mindset. It is a way of engaging the world that joyfully explores the possible rather than surrendering to the inevitable hurdles in the road.

Entrepreneurs have a passion to turn ideas into action. Their motivations and methods are different from those associated with traditional university scholarship, where theoretical concerns may trump practical ones and consensus views can take years to emerge. Yet, business schools - where entrepreneurship is taught -find themselves within an academic...